a couple motorcycle things from "TheFancy.com"

turn signals on the helmet... good idea!

http://www.thefancy.com/cars-and-vehicles

Have you heard of the Detroit Maker Faire?

there is a 500 dollar limit to what you can pay for stuff you get a kids toy faster with

"With a limit of $500 spent on modifying a kid’s Power Wheels car – hacker spaces race for the championship in the 2012 Power Racing Series.

The innovative racing series makes engineering entertaining and approachable. The goal of the Power Racing Series is to advance technology education and encourage people to try something new. (And have a good time, too.)"

found on http://www.makerfairedetroit.com/

Starburner Galactic Courier Service base camp for a journey to the center of the earth or time traveling

 I don't recall which samll crate is a portable toilet cube in disguise, but one is, and it's damn cool to realize that this basecamp is that well thought out!

 in the center of the above is a perfectly working portable typewriter... it folds in half for travel

 above is a hand cranked recharging incandescent torch (flashlight)

 this is a real working Mimeograph that is about a hundred years old

 above, a working Tesla coil

you're familiar with the plight of the old American cars in Cuba, but had you heard of the Harley's that are kept running? Here's a great story and photos from Southsiders MC after the link

Here is an exerpt of the future book being photographied and written by Gunther Maier, a German Photographer installed in Santa Fe NM.
 Gunther is also looking for an publisher, please contact him at : gunther@newmexico.com
 And have a look at his website: http://www.roadhousepictures.net/3/artist.asp?ArtistID=35011&Akey=T568YEK8

Not surprisingly, many Harlistas keep their motorcycles in coveted spots in the living room or on the patio, not the garage. And toddlers began playing on the machines as soon as they can crawl. Some Harlistas ride the same motorcycles their grandfathers owned before the revolution.

Today only a few hundred remain nearly a half century after the island’s last Harley dealership closed. “They’re an endangered species,” said Jose Angel “Pipi” Perez, a Cuban mechanic who restores Harleys. “They are disappearing.” But Cuba’s hogs aren’t gone yet thanks to the remarkable efforts of a group known as Harlistas. Harlistas have kept their engines running despite decades of hardship and economic isolation. Almost all their motorcycles are at least 50 years old.Yet they find a way to keep them alive, scavenging parts from battered old trucks, lawn mowers and even anti-tank guns.

After the United States cut off trade with Cuba in the early 1960s, Harlistas couldn’t get any spare parts, not even tires or brakes. So they were forced to improvise. One old-school mechanic used barbed wire to fix broken chains, another started cutting up cake boxes to make engine gaskets. That led to his nickname, Cake Box, which sticks to this day.

Harlistas have done whatever it takes to keep their motorcycles on the road, even it means using:
 * Pistons from Russian trucks.
* Chains stripped from the conveyor belts of a pre-Castro Coca-Cola factory.
* Fiat ambulance horns from Poland.
* Exhaust pipes made from tubes ripped from electrical transformers.
* Tires from VW Beetles.

this is only a small part of the entire post I found on the superb http://southsiders-mc.blogspot.com/2012/01/harlistas-by-gunther-maier.html
Man, I like that blog!

Monowheel circa 1952, photos by Dean Loomis. WW2 was just over, and anything was possible

These were all photographed for Life magazine, as this was being prepped to get to a motorshow in 1952. Sleuths who try to figure out where, would need to look for a Bob's Speedo Service and a Hancock gas station in 1952.

Found on http://interweb3000.blogspot.com/2012/02/vintage-monowheel.html
via http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com

The monowheels in Men In Black 3 look a lot like this one http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/03/men-in-black-3-mib3-is-going-to-be.html

Getting closer to a compressed air car... Tata isn't the only company working on it, so is Toyota

The TATA Mini CAT which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis, a body of fiberglass that is glued not welded and powered by compressed air. A Microprocessor is used to control all electrical functions of the car. One tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, turn signals and every other electrical device on the car. Which are not many.
The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.
There are no keys, just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket. According to the designers, it costs less than 50 rupees per 100 KM, that's about a tenth the cost of a car running on gas. It's mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car, a factor which makes it a perfect choice for city motorists. The car has a top speed of 105 KM per hour or 60 mph and would have a range of around 300 km or 185 miles between refuels. Refilling the car will take place at adapted gas stations with special air compressors. A fill up will only take two to three minutes and costs approximately 100 rupees and the car will be ready to go another 300 kilometers.
This car can also be filled at home with it's on board compressor. It will take 3-4 hours to refill the tank, but it can be done while you sleep.

Because there is no combustion engine, changing the 1 liter of vegetable oil is only necessary every 50,000 KM or 30,000 miles. Due to its simplicity, there is very little maintenance to be done on this car.

Toyota's air powered car Kurin

Derived from the Japanese word for air (ku) and wheel (rin), the Ku:Rin project came into being in December 2006 in the Dream Car Workshop of Toyota Industries Corporation. A team of 40 members designed and built the first car to run on the air inflated by a compressor that had a pencil shaped rocket. The eco-friendly tricycle became the fastest car driven by a compressed air-engine in the world in 2009 and the company even intended to get it entered into the Guinness World Record for this achievement. Though looks like a steam punk vehicle, the Ku:Rin uses air to propel itself thus outputs zero carbon emission. Running only on air compressor, the vehicle has a speed of 80.3 MPH (129.2km/h) and is fueled by on-board compressed air tank and generates electricity by expanding the compressed air using a reversed AC compressor.
info on the Toyota from http://www.utilityproducts.com/news/2011/11/1540069457/is-air-power-the-future-of-transportation.html

Thanks Mike!

Cap-pack... the most useful new product I found at SEMA, and winner of the Best New Product and the SEMA Global Media Award

 

 That really says it all with the photos, more than I could with words. I'd love to have one of these if I was still using the work truck I was once stuck with

http://www.cap-pack.com/ is their website, and where the top sequence of photo come from, I used them because they are much better than mine

cool new bike lock that resembles a sport drink bottle, and fits perfect into your bikes bottle holder

Brilliant! found on http://www.bemlegaus.com/

The review on Wired.com is that it is useless against hardcore city bike thieves... but just about everything is, to anyone with a car and tools, about nothing is theft proof... high speed rotary cutoff wheels will slice through Kryptonite and all the other stuff you think keep your bike chain and locks imperivous.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/10/bike-bottle-lock-trades-security-for-convenience/

bathroom bike sink.. .. very cool what interior designers with ingenuity can create

found on http://www.bemlegaus.com/

Cool things I learned n the Mopar area at SEMA this year... best rear axle for E bodies are B body axles, and bulldog paper clips are grreat for temp mud flap retainers

 I asked the owner how he fit such huge rear wheels... and he told me that a B Body axle is 2 or 4 (I can't recall which) inches less in length... and so with a leaf spring relocation kit of 2 inches, you can then fit these mongo Mickey Thompsons under the rear.. they are 30 X 12 inchers and on 15 inch rims

 At first I just noticed the clear plexiglass mud flaps and thought that they were a damn good idea

Then I noticed when taking a closer photo, that they are only temporary and held on with bulldog paper clips. Great idea!